My new friend Ashra and I took the babies, Dieter (aged 1) and of course Eileen (9 months) to Den Bosch today. Or if you prefer S'Hertogenbosch. I found a gourmet shop and a coffee/tea emporium and a yummy lunch. Not a bad use of a couple of hours tiring out the offspring!
Den Bosch has canals that run under the building of the city. They only offer canal tours in the summer, but I am looking forward to taking one and seeing the underside of the town.
The town edifices are older than those of Uden and Eindhoven (which were both bombed during World War II). One difference between the towns that I have visited in the Netherlands and those that I have seen in Belgium is the fact that the town square is not surrounded by guild houses (the baker's guild house, the shoemaker's guild house, the banker's guild house etc.) That might be a function of the age of the towns. I want to go slower through Den Bosch soon, because the vestiges of the guild houses might still be there.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Child might one day sleep
Hurray and Hurrah! Eileen has managed to take a couple of daytime naps without me and is only needing me to get up two times at night -- and this is two or three days of that! Now, if I can convince her that she doesn't really need/want food from 10pm to 5am again, we would be ahead of where we were when she caught her cold.
In other news, she has discovered that she can push a small play table around the room while standing. I am calling this her redecorating phase. In fact, as I was typing, she just redecorated my coffee to the floor but thankfully 1) it was cold and 2) she didn't break the mug.
Other news...it is beginning to feel like I have my own life (sort of). Looking at the calendar it is no longer filled with just things that had to do with Eric's office. I am starting to see a light at the end of the transitional tunnel. That likely means that I am no longer in quite the tourist mode. I will try to come up with a tourist like post, though after my trip to Den Bosch on Thursday.
So, after I wrote that last paragraph, I looked out the window and saw a man riding by on a bicycle while pulling a small horse by the reigns. Hmm...maybe I am not so used to being here after all.
In other news, she has discovered that she can push a small play table around the room while standing. I am calling this her redecorating phase. In fact, as I was typing, she just redecorated my coffee to the floor but thankfully 1) it was cold and 2) she didn't break the mug.
Other news...it is beginning to feel like I have my own life (sort of). Looking at the calendar it is no longer filled with just things that had to do with Eric's office. I am starting to see a light at the end of the transitional tunnel. That likely means that I am no longer in quite the tourist mode. I will try to come up with a tourist like post, though after my trip to Den Bosch on Thursday.
So, after I wrote that last paragraph, I looked out the window and saw a man riding by on a bicycle while pulling a small horse by the reigns. Hmm...maybe I am not so used to being here after all.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday - Daegen's birthday
Eileen has gone to her very first birthday party for a friend. Daegen turned 1. There was cake, a pinata, games, other kids from the playgroup. Oh my goodness! A nap followed the long tearful ride home.
We had an awesome time...and it was an all-American party with folks from the playgroup that Daegen's mother formed.
Meanwhile, back at the farm (who knew that I would ever be able to say that for real?), Eric spruced up the yard.
Anyway, that is the news from here in Volkel.
We had an awesome time...and it was an all-American party with folks from the playgroup that Daegen's mother formed.
Meanwhile, back at the farm (who knew that I would ever be able to say that for real?), Eric spruced up the yard.
Anyway, that is the news from here in Volkel.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Rainy days and Tuesdays
My landlord, Maritje speaks no English and my Dutch is not at a conversational level - I dropped the little that I was studying some weeks ago, before my computer died and still haven't picked it back up again. I can sometimes figure out what is being said, but usually not. She stopped by yesterday to tell me that one of the neighborhood young adults was killed by a car over the weekend and that there would be an in home activity down the road on Saturday and that we were invited. We get through these types of conversations with the help of google translate, my Dutch English dictionary and lots of giggles at poor translations.
So, we will get to see our first in state.
Meanwhile, a short digression. Here in the Netherlands, kids live with their parents until they can afford to move on. So, this kid was 24. Most kids stay in their parents' home even while attending university or trade school. In a lot of ways, the idea that your kid can continue to live with you if he/she is contributing to the household, until he/she is ready to move out makes more sense than attaching an arbitrary age to the leaving home and becoming an adult idea. I think that it leads to a more sensible transition to adulthood than sending an 18 year old away to an environment that allows them to not learn budgets, or responsibility, but 'treats them as adults.' I just don't see most kids as using college to truly transition to adulthood. But, maybe I am looking at it wrong.
So, we will get to see our first in state.
Meanwhile, a short digression. Here in the Netherlands, kids live with their parents until they can afford to move on. So, this kid was 24. Most kids stay in their parents' home even while attending university or trade school. In a lot of ways, the idea that your kid can continue to live with you if he/she is contributing to the household, until he/she is ready to move out makes more sense than attaching an arbitrary age to the leaving home and becoming an adult idea. I think that it leads to a more sensible transition to adulthood than sending an 18 year old away to an environment that allows them to not learn budgets, or responsibility, but 'treats them as adults.' I just don't see most kids as using college to truly transition to adulthood. But, maybe I am looking at it wrong.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Karen and Eileen - the swimsuit edition
Okay, already, I know that I never post pictures. Here, let me make it up to you! You should know that no stunt-babies were used and no babies were harmed in the making of these images.
Vienna part 2
Some other thoughts from Vienna. For the Orthodox community it is common to keep men and women separate while praying. This is done in one of two ways: the balcony or the mehitza (a curtained region that keeps the women to the side). In the old shul (synagogue) in Vienna (the only one to survive Krystalnacht), they have a couple of balconies. I have always found it frustrating not to be able to reach out to touch the Torah and to participate at will. But, this time, with the baby, I was able to watch from on high. No one could reproach me for having a noisy baby with me. Additionally, my friend Jack mentioned how noisy it is downstairs. Because the balcony was really over only the bima (the raised portion of the synagogue where the Torah is read and the prayers are led), I think that we were able to hear and see better than most of the men. I will have to revise my thinking about separation.
My other thoughts were about language. It turns out that trying to learn German and Dutch concurrently would be impossible for me. If you already know German and English, then Dutch is a relatively easy language to pick up, but it doesn't work the other way. So, since I am trying to learn Dutch, I had to revert to English in Vienna. This worked okay, as Vienna is a pretty international city -- since the UN has a portion of the city. I have to say that the Viennese knew more English than the people of Uden. One of the women in the balcony at the synagogue (who looked older than Eileen's grandmothers) acted shocked that I would even ask if she spoke English.
My other thoughts were about language. It turns out that trying to learn German and Dutch concurrently would be impossible for me. If you already know German and English, then Dutch is a relatively easy language to pick up, but it doesn't work the other way. So, since I am trying to learn Dutch, I had to revert to English in Vienna. This worked okay, as Vienna is a pretty international city -- since the UN has a portion of the city. I have to say that the Viennese knew more English than the people of Uden. One of the women in the balcony at the synagogue (who looked older than Eileen's grandmothers) acted shocked that I would even ask if she spoke English.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Beauty and Fear - week in Vienna
Eileen and I are just back from a week in Vienna. I have not digested most of the experiences. We got to see my very good friend Jack -- the Rabbi that married Eric to me. We wandered streets and took streetcars. We went to a cafe and ate pastries. We were there for Jewish holidays.
The time there reminded me that the Holocaust is not that long ago, and that the Austrians, especially, have not come to terms with their role in this. Growing up Jewish, I often was asked to stand for the prayer remembering the dead (the Kaddish) to remember the people lost during the Holocaust. Before moving to Europe I had come to the conclusion that the religious that died in the Holocaust would be uncomfortable with me remembering people with whom I was not related and had no real knowledge, while the non-religious probably wouldn't care. The Holocaust was a tragedy, and another black period in the black and gray history of being Jewish. I cannot, then, reconcile that set of beliefs with how it feels to be in Europe in a synagogue that has been restored or newly built since they were mostly vandalized or destroyed in the past 60 years. I cannot tell you how it feels to have to pass pretty heavy security, passing police vehicles, answering questions because the synagogue has been bombed in the last 20 years and 25% of the parliament considers itself to be fascist/pro-Nazi. I can tell you that it takes an amazing trust in G-d to be raising your children Jewish in Vienna (even more than Amsterdam -- where there are also security issues and that horrible shadow still looms). I can tell you that I am now standing for Kaddish at every opportunity.
But, the smudge that is the Jewish-European history (and it is much longer than 60 years) doesn't diminish the wonder and awe that I feel from seeing Vienna. If Amsterdam is a dense, sweet, fruit-studded cake, Vienna is a wedding cake -- all Baroque and imposing. It is awe inspiring. The music opportunities are just as amazing.
I'll probably write another blog post on this once I have digested the trip more. For the time being, I am only sure that it takes a person of more faith than I have to give birth to and raise a Jewish child in today's Europe. I guess we are not likely to stay on forever.
The time there reminded me that the Holocaust is not that long ago, and that the Austrians, especially, have not come to terms with their role in this. Growing up Jewish, I often was asked to stand for the prayer remembering the dead (the Kaddish) to remember the people lost during the Holocaust. Before moving to Europe I had come to the conclusion that the religious that died in the Holocaust would be uncomfortable with me remembering people with whom I was not related and had no real knowledge, while the non-religious probably wouldn't care. The Holocaust was a tragedy, and another black period in the black and gray history of being Jewish. I cannot, then, reconcile that set of beliefs with how it feels to be in Europe in a synagogue that has been restored or newly built since they were mostly vandalized or destroyed in the past 60 years. I cannot tell you how it feels to have to pass pretty heavy security, passing police vehicles, answering questions because the synagogue has been bombed in the last 20 years and 25% of the parliament considers itself to be fascist/pro-Nazi. I can tell you that it takes an amazing trust in G-d to be raising your children Jewish in Vienna (even more than Amsterdam -- where there are also security issues and that horrible shadow still looms). I can tell you that I am now standing for Kaddish at every opportunity.
But, the smudge that is the Jewish-European history (and it is much longer than 60 years) doesn't diminish the wonder and awe that I feel from seeing Vienna. If Amsterdam is a dense, sweet, fruit-studded cake, Vienna is a wedding cake -- all Baroque and imposing. It is awe inspiring. The music opportunities are just as amazing.
I'll probably write another blog post on this once I have digested the trip more. For the time being, I am only sure that it takes a person of more faith than I have to give birth to and raise a Jewish child in today's Europe. I guess we are not likely to stay on forever.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
back for a day
Hello friends;
If you believe that your information with me might have been left on my old computer (hint: if you never hand wrote your address for me and if I don't have a mailing list with your e-mail on it, this likely means you) please feel free to write to me and get my new computer in shape! I lost a lot when the hard drive failed -- but it was just a computer, I would hate for it to be friends, too!
So, since you last heard from me, I went to Amsterdam for Rosh Hashonah. There I was reminded of a couple of things: 1) toddlers and Europe (especially stairs) are a scary combo (thankfully, we are upright and sidling, but not actually walking), think stairs with limited handrails, 2) World War II really changed the face of Judaism in Europe (there were only about 30 of us for the service, and from the looks of people, they were the community...there regularly, except for me and a couple of foreign exchange students from the US), 3)Amsterdam may be 1.5 hours away on a weekend, but on a weekday, especially traveling with traffic, that becomes easily 3 hours.
I discovered that there are Jews in Tilburg, much closer than Amsterdam, thanks to one of the women at the event.
Eileen has been thriving at swimming. We had underwater portraits done last week, and hope that next week we will see a winning proof that I can post of my submerged baby.
Now, I must go pack. I am visiting Vienna to see a friend from my time in NM for Yom Kippur. I look forward to seeing him, but also am already wishing that I could be home for some time with Eric. It just feels like we are always running in different directions.
Oh, and for those wondering if Eileen is sleeping, things are different, but not better. I am sure that she will be sleeping soon, though. And meanwhile, 8 months and no teeth!
If you believe that your information with me might have been left on my old computer (hint: if you never hand wrote your address for me and if I don't have a mailing list with your e-mail on it, this likely means you) please feel free to write to me and get my new computer in shape! I lost a lot when the hard drive failed -- but it was just a computer, I would hate for it to be friends, too!
So, since you last heard from me, I went to Amsterdam for Rosh Hashonah. There I was reminded of a couple of things: 1) toddlers and Europe (especially stairs) are a scary combo (thankfully, we are upright and sidling, but not actually walking), think stairs with limited handrails, 2) World War II really changed the face of Judaism in Europe (there were only about 30 of us for the service, and from the looks of people, they were the community...there regularly, except for me and a couple of foreign exchange students from the US), 3)Amsterdam may be 1.5 hours away on a weekend, but on a weekday, especially traveling with traffic, that becomes easily 3 hours.
I discovered that there are Jews in Tilburg, much closer than Amsterdam, thanks to one of the women at the event.
Eileen has been thriving at swimming. We had underwater portraits done last week, and hope that next week we will see a winning proof that I can post of my submerged baby.
Now, I must go pack. I am visiting Vienna to see a friend from my time in NM for Yom Kippur. I look forward to seeing him, but also am already wishing that I could be home for some time with Eric. It just feels like we are always running in different directions.
Oh, and for those wondering if Eileen is sleeping, things are different, but not better. I am sure that she will be sleeping soon, though. And meanwhile, 8 months and no teeth!
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